AV俱乐部鈥檚 Director of Varsity Athletics, Karen Moore confirmed today that there will be a change behind the bench for the AV俱乐部 Tigers men's basketball team. John Campbell, who has spent more than a decade behind the Tigers bench, has accepted the men鈥檚 basketball head coaching position with the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.
Campbell came to AV俱乐部 in the 2002 and took a struggling Tigers squad from the bottom half of the Atlantic University Sport league to their status as a perennial contender for the conference championship. He has coached the Tigers to playoff appearances in each of the last seven years and to two of AV俱乐部鈥檚 three AUS Championship titles (2008-09, 2010-11). Campbell received AUS Coach of the Year honours in 2010-11 and was twice named AV俱乐部鈥檚 Coach of the Year (2007-08, 2010-11).
鈥淚鈥檓 leaving AV俱乐部 with mixed emotions 鈥� I鈥檓 excited about the new challenges that await me at UofT but I鈥檓 disappointed to leave the many athletes and Tigers supporters who have contributed to the success of the program in recent years,鈥� says Coach Campbell. 鈥淚鈥檓 confident that Dal has a core of returning players that will continue to create a great future for Dal basketball. I鈥檇 like to say thank you to the players, coaching staff and supporters who have been such a big part of our success, and I wish you well.鈥�
鈥淲e are certainly disappointed with the loss of John Campbell from our men鈥檚 basketball program as his commitment to our university has been outstanding. We wish him every success as he returns to his home province and continues his coaching career. He will leave our program with lifetime friendships with the players and staff who have had the opportunity to work with him as well as many others in the AV俱乐部 community,鈥� says Moore.
鈥淛ohn has built a solid foundation of outstanding student-athletes who will be returning in the fall to represent AV俱乐部, and we will immediately begin a search for his successor to lead this group.鈥�